Who Am I?
by TatteredWings
Summary: Kagome has always been the youngest sibling, the twin of Kikyou, a princess, the daughter of Kenji and Isuzu...but is she? Does she really know who she is? Why does everyone seem to know something she doesn't know? Who is she?CHAPTER FIVE FIVE FIVE FIVE F
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome to _Who Am I? _This is my first InuYasha story, but NOT my first story. You may notice within the story there are big differences from the Anime/Manga and the characters may be out of character. Kagome may seem much more childish then you might remember her from the Anime as, but she is the same girl…just more things added to her. Well if you have any questions you can just ask them in a review when you're done reading. . I don't own InuYasha by the way…which sucks really bad.

**Chapter One**

Cries of pain filled the air as a woman lying on top of a blanket soaked with sweat clutched another woman's hand tightly. Her dark black hair was matted against her forehead, her eyes shut tight. The woman sitting next to the crying woman whispered encouraging words into the crying woman's ear as tears began to fall from her eyes. Her teeth were clenched tightly as she tired her hardest to push the baby out.

"Come on Fuka, you're almost there," said a third woman as she sat before the crying woman, her hands held before her, ready to grasp the newborn. "Just one more…one more."

With a final cry the fresh cries of a newborn baby girl erupted within the room as the woman fell limp upon the futon. Her dark brown eyes lay open looking up at the ceiling before her. The woman who had been holding the cry woman's hand suddenly erupted into cries as the third woman clutched the baby close to her breast.

"M'lady…" whispered the third woman as she looked at the sobbing woman who clutched onto the now dead woman's hand tightly.

"She's gone Ouka…" said the woman.

"We knew this would happen," said Ouka as she began to wrap the baby tightly in a towel, her cries dying down.

"But I was hoping it wouldn't," said the woman as she reached over with a trembling hand to shut Fuka's eyes.

"We all hoped," said Ouka as she held out the baby girl for the woman to take.

"But I'll keep my promise and you shall as well," said the woman firmly as she blinked the last traces of tears away from her eyes as she brought the baby girl close to her heart.

"Yes, of course," said Ouka.

"_Isuzu M'lady…," said Fuka as she stood before the woman who sat upon a grand golden throne before her. Isuzu smiled kindly down at the young woman, her hand placed lightly upon her bulging stomach that rivaled even Fuka's._

"_I've told you many times to simply acknowledge me by my name," said Isuzu as she let out a merry laugh. "We've known each other for many years."_

"_But you were always and will be my Queen," said Fuka as she smiled._

"_Is there something you needed?" asked Isuzu as she slowly stood up from her seat with a bit of a struggle._

"_Isuzu…you and I both know I shall not live through this birth," said Fuka slowly as her trembling hands held her stomach gently._

_The smile upon Isuzu's face was quickly wiped away as she walked slowly towards Fuka. A gentle hand from the Queen was laid upon her shoulder._

"_Don't say such things…" said Isuzu softly._

"_We cannot deny it," said Fuka firmly, but her voice began to crack as she continued on. "But what will happen of Kagome if she lives…? She'll have no Father and no other family to fall back upon Isuzu."_

"_She'll have me. She'll have Ouka," said Isuzu as she tipped up Fuka's chin. "I promise to take care of Kagome, my dear Fuka, as if she were my own."_

_Fuka erupted into tears as Isuzu took the woman as best as she could within her arms, which was quite difficult for both of them were quiet pregnant. Isuzu held Fuka dearly, her hand stroking the woman's long black hair. Within her own eyes were traces of tears but she was determined not to let them fall._

"_Do not fret though Fuka…you'll make it," said Isuzu._

How wrong she had been though. Only a few weeks after the promise Fuka was now lying dead at her feet. Isuzu stood up with the now sleeping Kagome within her arms as Ouka stood up as well. The two shuffled out of the room as several people went in and began to remove the body of Fuka Higurashi.

"What will you do M'lady?" asked Ouka.

"Like I said to Fuka. I shall treat Kagome as if she were my own," said Isuzu as the two turned sharply into a room to their right. The room was obviously a nursery and within the room were three cribs, two of them already occupied. The first one held Isuzu's own daughter who had not even been more less than a day ago. The small form of Kikyou lay sleeping within the crib as Isuzu looking fondly down at her daughter. Within the next crib lay another child except she was a bit bigger. This was Ouka's daughter who had been born several months prior; Sango. Slowly Isuzu lay Kagome down within the third crib. "Nobody except you and Kaede know of Kikyou, Kagome, nor of me going into labor this day."

"Yes," said Ouka as she nodded.

"So it will be quite simple," said Isuzu. "We shall go on from this day pretending that Kagome is also my daughter. Kikyou's…twin you might say."

Ouka simply nodded.

"It will work…won't it?" asked Isuzu with uncertainty in her voice now. The tough demeanor was suddenly replaced with fear.

"Yes, of course!" said Ouka as she looked at the young Queen.

Ouka grasped Isuzu's hand and gently led her away from the nursery; the two taking one last fleeting glance at the three cribs and then closing the door and disappearing down the dim hallway.

**_Eighteen Years Later_**

"SANGO!" cried Kagome as she sprinted down the hallway, her hands grasping her kimono tightly so she wouldn't trip over the hem. The young eighteen year old was quite the sight to see. She was clad in a light lavender kimono with a pattern of light blue lilacs, except the kimono was quite askew upon her shoulders and hung down slightly on her small frame. Her hair had been in a neat bun upon her head but all her running had caused it to fall loosely around her face and shoulders. She was out of breath and beads of sweat were starting to form upon her forehead as she suddenly cried out in surprise and came flying to a halt in front of a pair of feet upon her stomach. She had accidentally lost grip upon her kimono and tripped over the hem just as she had predicted.

"Kagome! Are you all right? Why were you running like that…and screaming too!" cried Sango as she knelt down and help Kagome to her feet.

"I'm fine, fine," said Kagome as she swatted Sango's hands away and began to recompose herself, fixing her kimono.

"So why were you looking for me?" asked Sango.

"To go outside of course!" said Kagome. "I haven't been to the garden at all this week, I bet it's full of those nasty weeds!"

"But don't you have lessons today?" asked Sango as she looked at her friend, a rather curious look in her eyes.

"Oh…right…well," said Kagome as she stepped back slightly and let out a nervous laugh. "Missing a day won't hurt! I mean I'm sure Kikyou will be angry with me but it'll be okay, she'll forgive me in the end, like always!"

"But I have chores to finish," said Sango as she held up three dust cloths in her hand.

"I'll help so you can finish it faster!" said Kagome as she quickly swiped one of the cloths from Sango's hand. "So which room is it today?"

"The blue room," said Sango as she walked side by side with her friend.

"Really? I bet we could sneak a couple of biscuits out without anyone noticing," said Kagome as she laughed.

Sango rolled her eyes and laughed as well. Kagome's childish nature always seemed to amaze Sango. She herself was eighteen already but in only a week there was supposed to be a grand ball for the eighteenth birthday of Kikyou and Kagome. There were rumors flying about the castle that even the Lord of the Western Lands was going to arrive and his family. It was well known that for the past several years Lord InuTaisho had been fending off the forces of OniGumo from the North for quite some time. It was even more rare to catch sight of his two sons, Sesshomaru and InuYasha, for they were always upon the battlefield facing off against OniGumo's own son, Naraku.

King Kenji ruled the Eastern lands along side with his wife Isuzu and his two daughters, Kikyou and Kagome. Fortunately for the past few years the attacks upon his land had ceased and it seemed as if OniGumo only seemed to care about overtaking Lord InuTaisho.

"You'll be eighteen in a few days and you're still talking about sneaking off biscuits?" said Sango as she giggled.

"Don't remind me! I bet Kouga is going to be there, how awful!" cried Kagome as she shook her head.

Kouga had become the Lord of the Southern lands after OniGumo and his army ruthlessly murdered his parents. He was still quite the young man and it was only two years ago that Kagome had faced the wrath of Kouga's supposed "Manly Charms". She of course had refused him completely but it seemed he still wouldn't give up.

"Here we are," said Sango as she threw open the doors to the Blue Room and the two girls were face to face with a rather large room. It wasn't actually called the Blue Room of course, it was actually the Leisure room, but for the fact that it was decorated in all blue they called it the blue room. Isuzu had taken it upon her self to organize each room in the castle with a specific color, which often got tad confusing because there were three rooms in blue, red, yellow, etc. Of course they all had different shades though; dark blue, blue, sky blue, maroon, red, scarlet, etc.

"Were you really going to clean this all by yourself?" asked Kagome in amazement.

"Not really, Hojou was supposed to be here as well," said Sango, referring to their other friend. Hojou was only a few years older than them but he was a very close friend. He always looked after Kagome with care and considered her as a younger sister, just as he did Sango. He found it upon himself to protect them at all cost, except that was quite pointless since he was quite the weakling and got very clumsy, but they loved him anyway.

"I'm so very sorry! A pot overflowed in the kitchen and they all started yelling and I got flustered and knocked over some pans and silverware and then they all yelled at me and kicked me out," said Hojou as he finished pathetically.

Kagome burst out laughing as she held her stomach and clutched her dust rag tightly. Everyday they always heard a new tale with Hojou's clumsiness got himself into and everyday it was similar in it's own fashion and yet Kagome always ended up laughing herself silly. Even after seven years of it.

"Don't laugh Kagome," said Sango, even though she knew Kagome wouldn't listen. She had been saying the same thing for seven years.

"Anyway, it's okay, we should get started on dusting. Kagome, are you helping?" asked Hojou.

"Of course!" cried Kagome, her laughter suddenly ceasing as she placed a rather funny, serious look upon her face.

"But you're a princess, you shouldn't be helping! Dusting for goodness sakes, that's something only servants like Sango and myself should do," said Hojou as he shook his head at Kagome.

"Don't call yourself servants!" cried Kagome. "That's horrible, anyway we should get started before we have no time to pull out those darn nasty weeds."

Then before either Hojou or Sango could say a thing she began to drag her rag over the vases and table, swiping of the dust as quickly and effectively as she could. The two looked at each other and shook their heads and sighed as they trailed behind her, wiping up the dust she missed (which was quite a lot).

"We're done!" cried Kagome as she waved her rag high in the air and twirled it excitedly. "We did really good!"

Sango and Hojou both nodded, not mentioning the fact that Kagome almost did close to nothing except run about the room and collect maybe about a pinch of dust.

"So c'mon Sango, we got lots of work to do," said Kagome as she grasped her friend's hand and flung the dust rag and Hojou with a giggle. "Don't tell Mother though, okay Hojou?"

"I would never," said Hojou as he smiled and collected Sango's dust rag as well as he waved and smiled watching the two wander down the hallway. Once they were out of sight he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion as he ran the back of his hand over his forehead, which was dripping in sweat.

"So who do you think is going to come to our party?" asked Kagome as she sat upon the dirt in her garden, pulling out various weeds at a time amongst the flowers.

"I thought you didn't want to think about it?" said Sango playfully as she sat herself upon the dirt as well, pulling up her skirt a bit.

"I don't want to think about turning eighteen, I want to think about the party though," said Kagome. "Oh and I don't want to think about Kouga being at the party, but that's pretty much it."

Sango laughed at this as she pulled lightly upon some of the weeds, tugging out the roots and all.

"Well Kagura and Kanna of course," said Sango. "They're your cousins…and Yura, who'll come because she's Kikyou's friend. Mmm…I invited Shippou."

"Oh that's good," said Kagome as she nodded at Shippou's name.

"Ayame will be there, well I mean of course she's going to be there because Kouga is," said Sango as she stifled a laugh at Kagome as she said this. "Hiten and Manten."

"Manten is quite ugly…" added Kagome as she smiled as she said this. "but he's nice and it'll be nice to see him there."

"Bankotsu, Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Renkotsu," said Sango.

"Really? Wow, I haven't seen them in forever!" cried Kagome excitedly. The four brothers were sons of a late friend of her Father's. There had been two others brothers, but they had met to a tragic end just as their Father had and only the four of them remained. To Kagome they were like the brothers she never had the chance to have, but she never got to see them that often. They traveled around helping various people and just out for some good adventure.

"Then of course there's the rumor that Lord InuTaisho will come and bring along his family," said Sango. "Sesshomaru, InuYasha, Rin, and their servants Jaken and Myoga."

"Rin?" asked Kagome confusedly. "I thought he only had two sons."

"Rin is the human daughter of his second wife," said Sango. "Her biological Father died a few years back and she was given to Lord InuTaisho."

"I hope they come, I want to meet her," said Kagome as she grinned childishly.

"and I'm sure all of your family will be there," said Sango as she glanced around before standing up again, wiping the dirt upon her apron.

"Where are you going?" asked Kagome.

"More chores Kagome," said Sango.

"I'll help," said Kagome as she began to stand up, but Sango pushed her back down gently.

"No," said Sango in a rather firm voice. "I know how much you want to but I won't let you. Hojou is right, you're a princess and will be turning eighteen in only a week, and you shouldn't be helping out doing chores with servants – Oh Kagome, shush! We're servants, deal with it. – anyway."

"Fine," mumbled Kagome as she watched Sango return within the castle, leaving her alone within her garden, left to pull out the weeds. Normally she liked being out here alone within her own special place, but today she wanted some company. Sighing she returned to plucking out the weeds.

She had begun this garden many years ago as a child and had declared it her special spot. Only she and the people she invited were welcome within it. Mostly she came her to think in peace and it was the one of few places where she acted her age. Stopping she scooted back on the dirt and leaned her back against the wooden gate that surrounded this place. The dark haired girl turned her head and looked up to meet with the falling sun in the sky.

Sometime she just didn't understand it at all. She felt as if she belonged with Sango and Hojou. She felt as if she just had to help out instead of sitting in a stuffy room learning etiquette and arithmetic, it felt so…foreign. Kagome just didn't understand _why_ and it frustrated her.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So…second chapter. I didn't get any reviews…but I didn't expect any really. I only gave it one day before I finished the second chapter. . But review please after you read this! This chapter will feature a flashback to some interaction between Kagome and Kikyou and it shows what kind of sisterly interaction they got going on. Anyway, most of this chapter is about Kagome and Kikyou anyway talking about their Birthday.

Chapter Two 

_"K-K-Kikyou?" said Kagome, her voice shaky, as she stood rooted to the spot in the middle of a pitch-dark hallway. Her hands were outstretched in front of her as she shut her eyes close, hoping to drive away the fact that she was stuck in a dark hallway. Tears threatened to spring from the five-year-old's eyes as she kept calling out for her sister._

_"Kagome? Where are you?" asked Kikyou as she stood several yards away from her sister. There was a worried tone to her voice as she turned around and around, trying to figure out which direction her sister was._

_"R-right h-here," said Kagome, hiccupping a few times as she felt the tears flow down her face. "I'm a-afraid Ki-Kikyou…wh-what if th-the B-b-boogeyman comes…?"_

_"Don't worry Kagome, he won't come. I'm right here," said Kikyou as she began to follow her sister's voice. Her steps were carefully placed but she walked in a quick pace and suddenly felt her arm brush against Kagome's fingers._

_Kagome uttered a small cry as she felt something touch her fingertips and recoiled back in alarm. Kikyou immediately grabbed her sister's hands and pulled the shorter girl towards her into a safe embrace, whispering soothing words into the girl's ear._

_"It's okay Kagome, Mother and Father will be here soon," said Kikyou as she held her sister as the two began to walk slowly down the hallway. She could feel her sister's silent shudders as she kept crying deep into her shoulder. "The dark is nothing. There is no such thing as the Boogeyman."_

_Kagome merely clung to her older sister tightly as she led her down the hallway. Suddenly she noticed a small glow at the end of the hallway and turned her head to get a better look. The light began to grow bigger and bigger as two shadowy figures emerged from the darkness._

_"Kikyou! Kagome! We were so worried!" cried Isuzu as she ran over quickly, leaving Kenji and the safety of the light behind._

_"Mama! I was so scared! All the lights went out when we were playing and we got separated!" said Kagome as she rushed over to her Mother and clung to her light green kimono. Kikyou calmly walked over and stood beside her Mother and looked up as her Father approached as well, a small smile graced his face as he looked down at his eldest daughter. "Kikyou was really brave though…" Kagome said in a barely audible voice as she turned her head to gaze at her sister in awe in the warm glow of the lantern Kenji held high above their heads._

"Kagome? You're still out here?" said Kikyou as she stood in front of the gate leading into the garden. She peered down at the sitting form of her sister and smiled and shook her head. Her long black locks shook with her head, tumbling over her dark purple silk kimono.

"You're not mad?" asked Kagome as she looked up and gazed into her sister's dark eyes.

It was amazing how similar the two girls looked, even though they really had no family relation at all. Kikyou opened the gate slowly and sunk down into a part of the garden that was covered in smooth, flat stones.

"No, not at all. You've been working very hard this week, you needed a break," said Kikyou as she smoothed out the folds of her kimono slowly. Her long, slender fingers running over the soft material as a small smile came over her lips.

"I have been," said Kagome as she nodded and grinned.

"But I don't think Kaede will be pleased when she sees the mud stains on your kimono," said Kikyou as she chuckled.

Kaede was a very old friend of Isuzu's. She was there for when Kikyou and Kagome were born, as was Sango's Mother of course. Kaede had taken care of the both of them ever since then and to this day she thought of them as her own grandchildren.

"Well I was sure she'd have gotten used to it by now," said Kagome as she tried to wipe some of the dirt off of her butt.

"But that doesn't mean she still doesn't get angry over it," said Kikyou as she smiled. "She'll still love you in the end…they all do…" Kikyou silently whispered the last three words to herself as she said this.

"So what have you been doing anyway? I know you were doing lessons for this long," said Kagome as she leaned in close to her sister, curiosity blazing within her eyes.

"Well if you must know I was helping Mother finish up the decorations for our party," said Kikyou. "The colors she wanted to use and the tablecloths and silverware and such. I knew you wouldn't have wanted to do it."

Kagome laughed as she clapped her hands together. "You know me so well!"

"I settled on light blue and purple," said Kikyou as she smiled.

"That's perfect! My favorite color and yours," said Kagome as she grinned.

"Mother agreed too," said Kikyou. "But we decided some things you should have a say in."

"Like what?" asked Kagome excitedly.

"Well the cake for one," said Kikyou as she chuckled. "What kind of food we'll be serving, the music, and the refreshments."

"The cake will be fun!" said Kagome as she nodded.

The two sisters sat in silence for a moment or two, watching as the sun finally disappeared behind the mountains and darkness blanketed the sky. Sparkling dots were splattered upon the black canvas and the half moon gazed down at them.

"We also finished double checking the guest list," said Kikyou.

"Let me guess…Kouga is coming," said Kagome with a sigh.

"Of course. Father wouldn't have it if the Lord of the Southern Lands wasn't there to celebrate his daughter's birthday," said Kikyou as she chuckled once more.

"Oh wait, is Lord InuTaisho and his family coming? That's what Sango says," said Kagome.

"Those are the only guests we're not sure about. Mother said to save settings for all of them just in case they do decide to come," said Kikyou. "Father is quite excited of just the thought of them coming…for obvious reasons."

"Reasons? What…reasons?" asked Kagome, quite oblivious to the facts.

Kikyou shook her head and couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her lips. "Well he wants to renew the alliance we have with Lord InuTaisho and because we're turning eighteen this year we're eligible for marriage. You know Lord InuTaisho has two sons."

"Are you kidding me? Marriage, already? We're just turning eighteen!" said Kagome in disbelief as she leaned back upon the fence once more.

"Well don't forget that Kagura married on her eighteenth birthday," said Kikyou.

"But Father wouldn't do that to us, would he?" asked Kagome suddenly.

"No, but I think he expects us to look for future husbands at our party," said Kikyou as she smiled. "and I think Kouga might be a match for you."

"What? No way!" said Kagome.

"He adores you Kagome, what else could you want?" asked Kikyou as she smiled.

"He's a bit creepy," said Kagome. "He calls me _his woman_. He's so rude and controlling!"

"Then…what about Bankotsu?" asked Kikyou. "Or any of his brothers."

"Ew, no! They're like family to me, you know that," said Kagome as she made a disgusted face. "Although I think Suikotsu might be good for you. He's really smart and knows a lot about herbs and medicine and stuff."

"Kagome? Kikyou? Where are you two? You're going to miss dinner!" came the voice of Isuzu as the two girls jumped hurriedly to their feet, while Kagome tried desperately to get the dirt stains out of her kimono. "There you are and Kagome, again? Isn't that the tenth time this month?"

"I'm sorry…I mean it'll come out though," said Kagome as she blushed.

"I know, but it's dinner and you don't exactly have time to change," said Isuzu as she laughed as her daughter began to become flustered.

"Don't worry Kagome, Father won't care," said Kikyou as she smiled as the three began making their way back inside the castle.

"Kagome…why do you have dirt on the bottom of your kimono…again?" asked Kenji slowly as a smile crept over his face as he watched his daughter try to shuffle towards her seat without turning around.

"It's not dirt! It's my new kimono…you know…the one with the big brown splotches on it…" she finished lamely as she sat herself down quickly.

"So then how is your garden?" asked Kenji as he waited for his food to arrive from the kitchens, which of course was in quite a mess because of Hojou, but they didn't know that.

"Great! I was thinking of planting more Morning Glories soon," said Kagome as she smiled.

"You might have put that off for awhile though because of the party," said Kenji as he stabbed his fork into the steak before him.

"Well yeah…I guess so," said Kagome as she looked down at her plate.

"You and Kikyou are turning eighteen, it's very important," said Kenji. "You're of age now."

"Not this again…" muttered Kagome under her breath as she stuffed a piece of broccoli into her mouth.

"There are a lot of men out there who would love to get the chance to marry my daughters. Like Kouga for instance, now he's quite the good man. A strong wolf demon and a strong leader," said Kenji.

"Why Kouga? What is it always Kouga?" asked Kagome, her mouth still half full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full dear," said Isuzu as she scolded her daughter and smiled and shook her head.

"Alright then, what about Sesshomaru and InuYasha? Now they would make good husbands, don't you think so Isuzu?" asked Kenji.

"Yes, lovely husbands. I've heard Sesshomaru takes after his Father in many ways," said Isuzu. "and Lord InuTaisho is a great man."

"He was quite polite when he was here last," said Kenji. "Wasn't he dear?"

"Such a darling he was, always quiet and doing as he was told. I do like InuYasha though, such a spunky young lad, he was always very curious. I think you'd get along with him Kagome," said Isuzu.

"They've been here before?" asked Kagome in confusion.

"When Mother was pregnant with us," said Kikyou, suddenly coming into the conversation. "Didn't you know?"

"No," said Kagome as she shook her head.

"Well they are lovely folk. Midori was such a wonderful woman, such a shame she passed away," said Isuzu as she shook her head.

"What about Rin?" asked Kagome.

"She wasn't born yet," said Isuzu.

"That doesn't make any sense then. She's younger than InuYasha and Sango said that she had a different Father," said Kagome.

"You shouldn't bring that up at the party," said Kenji.

"It's a bit complicated you see," said Isuzu. "Midori is a good woman, she really is but everyone makes mistakes. I'm not saying Rin is a mistake of course, I've heard she's a very sweet child, but Midori made the mistake of getting involved with another man and Rin was born. Lord InuTaisho is a very forgiving man so he took Midori back, but the poor woman died giving birth and everyone thought it would be better for Rin to go with her real Father. Although I heard that Lord InuTaisho wanted to keep her since she reminded him so much of his wife."

"But she was given back to him in the end anyway," said Kagome.

"Yes, of course," said Isuzu. "She's about…seven now?"

"She turned eight a few months ago Mother," said Kikyou.

"Oh yes, that's right! We sent those gifts," said Isuzu as she gave out a laugh.

Kagome made her way to her room as she shut the door silently behind her. A yawn escaped her lips as she let her kimono drop around her feet as she grasped her nightgown that was hanging off her bed. Draping it over her body she walked over to her balcony window and pushed it open and gazed out into the night sky.

"Six more days to go," whispered Kagome.

A small groan escaped her lips as she slumped over the edge of her balcony. Guests were supposed to start arriving in two days and she would have to be a good little host. She knew most of the time she would probably screw up one way or another and Kikyou would have to help her out. Why couldn't she be more like her sister? More calm, more graceful, more…princess-like?

"Stupid, childish me," she muttered as she walked over to her bed and slipped into the sheets. Kagome turned her head to look out the open window and gazed out into the darkness. After a few moments she felt herself getting quite drowsy she her eyelids closing shut.

"Kagome! Wake-up! We're here!" cried a male voice. "Get up sleepyhead!"

"I hear it's cake day today, do you think we could get a taster?" asked a second male voice.

Kagome groaned as she slipped back under the covers. She could feel two people jumped up and down on her bed, but currently she didn't care at all. She needed more sleep…who cared who they were. They could kidnap her for all she cared, as long as they let her sleep.

"I don't think this is the best way to wake her up," said a third male voice.

"Don't hurt her…" muttered a fourth male voice.

"We came all this way to see you! Get up!" cried the first male voice.

"Kouga and Kagome sitting in a tree…" muttered the second voice.

"FOR GOD'S SAKES, SHUT THE HELL UP!" screeched Kagome as she flung open her sheets and chucked her pillows randomly in front of her.

"Morning Sunshine," said the first and second male voices as they peered down at her.

"Go bug someone else Bankotsu, Jakotsu," groaned Kagome as she fell back onto her bed.

"Nope, gotta get to breakfast," said Bankotsu as he grasped Kagome by the arm and pulled her swiftly onto his back.

"I hate how you are whenever you're with Jakotsu, it's as if you're a completely different person," muttered Kagome as she clung onto the man's back. "I like you better when you're all serious."

"He's no fun then," said Jakotsu as he walked beside them.

"But Bankotsu gets twice as annoying when he's with you Jakotsu," said Suikotsu.

"It's true," said Renkotsu.

"Shut up," growled Bankotsu.

"So you got her up," said Isuzu as she smiled at the half-asleep form of her daughter upon Bankotsu's back.

"It was such hard work too," said Jakotsu. "We're really hungry now."

"Kagome, come on," said Bankotsu as he looked back at her.

"Just a few more minutes…please?" asked Kagome.

"You have a lot of work ahead of you," said Suikotsu. "You should eat now."

"A head start is always good," said Renkotsu.

"That's nice…" murmured Kagome.

"Kagome, get up," said Bankotsu in a rather firm voice.

"Alright, fine…" muttered Kagome as she slowly slid herself down Bankotsu's back and landed herself on the floor and yawned. She walked in a light daze toward her seat at the table and sat down, nearly missing the chair.

"It looks like she's drunk," said Jakotsu.

"Shut up," mumbled Kagome.

"Good Morning Lady Kikyou," said Suikotsu.

"Good Morning, I thought I heard yelling in the hallways," said Kikyou as she smiled.

"Hope we didn't wake you," said Renkotsu.

"If it was the racket, I'd like to apologize for Kagome's sake," said Jakotsu.

"You were screaming too," said Kagome.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," said Bankotsu.

"How come you're all nice to Kikyou and you pick on me," said Kagome as she made a face at Bankotsu.

"Because she's older," said Jakotsu.

"By a few minutes! Right Mother?" asked Kagome looking towards her Mother for reassurance.

"Yes, of course," said Isuzu, something like sadness flickered over her eyes, but no one seemed to notice it as the table (As in more like Kagome and Jakotsu) went on arguing. The woman looked down at the eggs on her plate and then up at Kagome wondering when it would be the right time to tell her. She was going to be eighteen soon and deserved to know who her real Mother was, it was the right thing to do. Wasn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Yes, another flashback. Just a fun one between Kagome and Kikyou. As you can tell from the flashback and the first two chapters Kikyou is a protective, caring sister. She's always been the level-headed, responsible one of the two, even as a toddler.

Yay! Reviews, I love all of you!

**Fluffy's Pet Girl **Thank you and I hope it stays interesting enough for you to read to the end. .

**Lozcollie **Hehehe, don't assume too quickly that it's an Inu/Kag.

**Arnen **Interesting x2! Wootness!

**Lyn **Oh no doubt about it, I WILL write more!

**Nobody **I'm writing as fast as I can! .

**Sheenachi **Awww, thank you so much!

Chapter Three 

_"Aren't you ever going to cut your hair Kikyou?" asked Kagome as she sat patiently on her bed as Kikyou sat behind her, running a brush through her younger sister's dark locks._

_"Maybe," said Kikyou as she smiled at Kagome's question. She had been letting her hair grow out for the past six years and it was about down to her elbows by now and was still growing. Kagome on the hand kept her hair to her shoulders._

_"I wish I had hair like yours, it's so pretty and shiny like Mama's," said Kagome as she smiled and felt Kikyou tug lightly on her hair and scoop half of it into a pigtail._

_"But your hair is so much easier to work with," said Kikyou as she fastened a ribbon to keep it in place._

_"I guess so," said Kagome as she swung her legs back and forth off the edge of her bed. Kikyou always did her hair in the morning, unless something came up. It was just one of those things where they got to spend time together without anything in the way. These were the times Kagome enjoyed the most in her day._

_"Are you going to lessons today?" asked Kikyou as she finished up Kagome's hair._

_"I don't know," said Kagome as she grinned mischievously._

_"Nani will be quite angry if you don't," said Kikyou as she referred to their female teacher. "and I think it would be good for you to at least come to lessons three times a week."_

_"Oh…okay. If you think so," said Kagome as she hopped off her bed, her short, stubby pigtails bouncing lightly off her shoulders. Giggling she twirled around, admiring herself in the mirror on the side of her room. "It looks really good today Kikyou!"_

"So how come you guys got here early?" asked Kagome as she and Bankotsu took a stroll along the side of the castle.

"Well we set off early just in case we came upon things on our journey, but surprisingly there wasn't much," said Bankotsu as he smiled. "So we got here just in time actually."

"How long are you staying?" asked Kagome curiously as she looked down at the ground, watching as she put one foot in front of the other.

"For a while I think," said Bankotsu. "I'll need to fend off all those males coming after you."

Kagome let out a laugh at Bankotsu as her laughter soon became snorts as Bankotsu looked at her, quite offended.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Bankotsu.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just promise to kick Kouga all the way back to his home," said Kagome as she grinned.

"I don't like him," said Bankotsu. "He seems very…clingy."

"I knew you would agree! Everyone else thinks he's such a nice young man," said Kagome as she shook her head.

"There's no man good enough for you," said Bankotsu firmly, but in the end a smile couldn't help but fall over his face.

"Well there has to be!" said Kagome. "I can't live my whole life along you know. What kind of man do you think would be good enough for me?"

Bankotsu crossed his arms across his chest as he looked up at the blue sky, thinking quite hard. In his mind the man he thought of seemed perfectly impossible to reach.

"He has to be strong enough to protect you," said Bankotsu. "Patient enough to tolerate you – now don't make that face at me. You can get quite…active. – A heart big enough to love all of you, fast enough to keep up with you, smart enough to treat you right, and he has to look as good as me."

"You don't look all that good to me," said Kagome thoughtfully as she grinned innocently at Bankotsu who lightly rapped on the side of her head.

"I'm very handsome I'll have you know," said Bankotsu. (AN: Oh god yes…he's so damn sexy!)

"Alright, alright," said Kagome as she laughed.

"Now come on, your Mother will have my ass if I make you late for your cake meeting," said Bankotsu as he scooped up Kagome with ease as she let out a small squeal of surprise.

"We have to have chocolate," said Kagome as she, Kikyou, and Isuzu huddled together in the kitchen over a small book. They were flipping through the pages to see what kind of cake they would prefer to have.

"And the icing where it's not really icing, but it's like the cream cheese sort of kind," said Kikyou.

"Yeah! That stuff tastes twice as better!" cried Kagome in agreement. (AN: OMG, TOTALLY IS!)

"All right, chocolate inside or outside?" asked Isuzu.

"I think we should have the chocolate inside and then the icing stuff can be that off-white sort of color," said Kagome.

"That sounds good," said Kikyou agreeing.

"Well with that settled, how about we pick out a design," said Isuzu as she turned the book so that both her daughters had a better view of the pages. The woman leaned back in her seat as she watched them admire all the cakes upon the pages. Her eighteenth birthday party hadn't been as grand as she was going to make this one. It seemed as if they only reason it was going to be so nice was because she wanted to get rid of the guilt she felt. Then again, that seemed selfish. The more she thought about it, it sounded as if she was doing this party for her own purpose and not for her daughters.

"Mother? We picked one out," said Kikyou as she gently prodded her Mother back.

"Oh! Already? Let me see," said Isuzu as she glanced over at the page and smiled. "You picked the largest you could find…didn't you?"

"Well, lots of people, lots of cake!" cried Kagome as she laughed.

"That's exactly what Fu-" began Isuzu without even thinking; suddenly a sharp kick from Kikyou from under the table stopped her from going any further. The woman looked at her oldest daughter and received a hard look.

Kagome looked from Kikyou to Isuzu, a confused look upon her face. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but it seemed like something between them and currently she could care less. There were more important matters to attend to, like the refreshments and snacks.

"Why do you protect her so much?" asked Isuzu as she looked down in the darkness of her tea. She slowly turned her spoon around and around in the cup as she watched the sugar disappear.

"Because I love her," said Kikyou simply as she looked at her Mother. "and she's my Sister."

"But…she's not," said Isuzu slowly.

"She is," said Kikyou firmly. "It doesn't matter that we don't have the same blood parents. We grew up together and technically you adopted her in some ways, so yes, she is my sister."

A small smile flickered upon Isuzu's face as she heard her daughter speak. When they were smaller Isuzu always feared they might never get along. She had seen so many sisters be pushed far apart by bitter feuds, but Kagome and Kikyou were close. Closer than she had ever been with her own sister. "I'm afraid Kikyou…what if she hates me? What if she disappears from our lives? My heart would break…she's all I have left of Fuka."

"Kagome wouldn't do that," said Kikyou. "She's not that kind of person."

"But…people change," she whispered quietly as she watched a tear silently slip down her face and straight into her tea.

"Mother," said Kikyou sharply, a rather edgy tone to her voice. "I forbid you to bring this up anymore, if you're afraid that Kagome will be hurt then at least let her have her happiness for awhile. Now, I expect the rest of the week to go on quietly without this matter being brought up again."

Then swiftly she stood up from her chair and left the room quickly, leaving her Mother to pick herself back together again. Closing the door quietly behind her, she stood alone in the dark hallway, her hands clasping the handle tightly. She didn't want to be so…cold, but if she wasn't strong, then who would be? She had to be this way; she had to protect all of them.

Suddenly, her strong demeanor was washed away as she crumpled to the floor. Her hands were outstretched in front of her as she watched them shake, although it was a bit hard to make them out in the darkness. Her body shuddered as she let tears slip down her face. Sometimes she didn't want to be the strong one. She wanted to be like Kagome, so childish and carefree. She was the only person who managed to light up the dreary times and knowing that there might be a chance that might be gone…it killed her.

"Lady Kikyou?" said a voice quietly as a figure emerged from the darkness.

Kikyou looked up in surprise as she watched Suikotsu crouch down next to her. She tried desperately to recompose herself, but failed miserably. Her body suddenly tensed up as she felt his hand place itself upon her cheek and slowly, with his thumb, wipe away her tears. She suddenly relaxed into his hand as she felt the tears slowly begin to diminish.

Even without words being spoken it seemed Suikotsu knew what the problem was. Then slowly he eased Kikyou into his arms as she clutched onto his shirt tightly, a new wave of tears washed over her as the two sat together in the darkness.

"Hojou? Are you here?" asked Kagome slowly as she peeped into one of the rooms and found it completely empty. With a sigh she shut the door and leaned against the door with a small frown. It seemed that Hojou and Sango were avoiding her somewhat nowadays and she didn't understand why. Did they not like her anymore? Was there something wrong with her?

"Lady Kagome, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be preparing for the party?" asked Kaede as the old woman came across her in the hallway.

"Oh…Kikyou said we had done enough for today. Mother looked tired anyway," said Kagome as she smiled. "But now I'm looking for Sango and Hojou, you wouldn't know where they are, would you?"

"They're busy cleaning the house Lady Kagome, it's best if you did not bother them," said Kaede as she looked at Kagome, who's face had fallen. "You might try later."

"Alright…" said Kagome as she let out another sigh and walked dejectedly down the hallway as Kaede went the opposite direction. It seemed everyone was too busy to even have a little chat with her. She was going to be glad when this whole party business was over and done with and everything returned to normal.

Suddenly Kagome felt herself bump lightly into another person as this said person stumbled back. Looking down slightly a smile graced itself upon her face as she recognized the person to be Kohaku, Sango's little brother.

"I'm so sorry Lady Kagome!" cried Kohaku as he kept bowing.

"It's okay Kohaku!" said Kagome as she smiled. "Are you off to do something?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to help arrange the flowers…" he said a bit quietly as a small blushed crept over his face.

"That sounds nice," said Kagome. "I wish I could help."

"But you mustn't! A princess should never do servant's work!" cried Kohaku.

Kagome winced slightly at the word servant. That's what everyone kept saying. She shouldn't do this and she shouldn't do that. What could she do? Not have any fun?

"Have you seen Sango or Hojou then?" asked Kagome hopefully.

"N-no," said Kohaku rather hurriedly. "I have to go though. There are a lot of flowers."

Then before she could question him any further he hurried off. A sad expression was placed upon her face as she watched him run off. Kagome began walking once again and found herself standing on the outer rim porch that surrounded the whole house. Glancing around the corner she saw Jakotsu and Bankotsu sitting together, whispering silently to themselves. It didn't seem like they were doing anything silly, which surprised her since whenever they were together they never acted serious.

Walking towards them she watched as they caught sight of her and immediately stop talking. A confused look crossed over her face briefly, wondering now what exactly they had been talking about that they couldn't discuss in front of her. A surprise present perhaps? Now that she wouldn't mind at all.

"Still up Kagome?" asked Bankotsu.

"It's not that late," said Kagome stubbornly.

"Yeah, I guess it's not," said Jakotsu as a fleeting smile came upon his face.

Kagome raised a slight eyebrow at Jakotsu, surprised at how…nice he was being. Normally all his remarks were sarcastic, but he was being decent now.

"So what were you two talking about?" asked Kagome as she sat down next to them.

"The party," said Bankotsu.

"Your future husband," said Jakotsu at the same time.

"What!" asked Kagome confusedly as she looked at the both of them.

"He was kidding," said Bankotsu as he looked at Jakotsu and glared.

"Yeah…I was kidding. We were just talking about the party," said Jakotsu as he nodded.

Silence suddenly flooded the conversation as the three of them sat down awkwardly. Kagome sighed as she stood up again, deciding that she was better off going to bed. Without a word she left the two of them and as she drifted away she could hear them whispering once again.

Walking slowly to her room she stopped at her doorway and suddenly spotted Sango in the hallway. They locked eyes and before Kagome could call her Sango quickly disappeared down a different hallway. A look of hurt was placed upon her girl's face as she shut her bedroom door behind her slowly as she walked silently to her bed. What was wrong with everyone? What were they whispering about? Why did they avoid her? Was there something wrong with her?


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note: I'm SO sorry about the long wait! I've pushed this story off to the side for awhile and I've just gotten to it and this is a pretty short chapter too, so sorry! Anyway, another Flashback. This will mostly be about some of the guests arriving and I believe the party will be next chapter.

**Avelyn Lauren** Thanks a bunch!

**sheenachi **Poor Kagome indeed. There shall be more poor Kagome's in the future...tch tch

**lyn **er...yes, of course!

**DeathByMotorBike **Very interesting name! . Wierd can be VERY good at times.

**loz** Mm...yes, I have considered that option. Very hard though, I don't trust very many people. I shall try harder with the spelling and grammar on my own though.

**animeadhdgeek14 **Updating as soon as I can!

**Cold Kikyou** Thanks for the compliment.

**InuKago45** Lol! Sesshomaru will come soon enough. . I can't wait either!

**FluffyShai **Thanks!

**Chris **thank you!

**DarkAngelofMusic **Hahaha, addicted. So nice to hear that.

**Chapter Four**

_"Kikyou! You're going too fast!" cried a six-year-old Kagome as she pumped her short legs as fast as she could. Kikyou had much longer legs and longer strides, so it was expected for the older girl to run much faster._

_"Kagome! Careful!" cried Kikyou as she stopped at the bottom of the hill and watched as her sister came over it and to her horror and dismay, begin to fall very quickly. Her sister rolled to a complete stop at the bottom, where she found the girl too shocked to cry. Blood was oozing slowly from the cuts that had appeared on her legs and arms, but most of it was on her knees and a rather large gash was on her cheek. _

_"It...hurts..." said Kagome simply as she looked down at herself, suddenly realizing what had happened. Then the tears began to spring for her eyes as a loud wail erupted from the little girl. "Iiiiittttttttt huuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrtssssss!"_

_"Sh...shhhh, Kagome. It's going to be okay," said Kikyou as she glanced around, not knowing exactly what to do. There were lots of options and most of them seemed dangerous. "Can you get up?"_

_Kagome went on wailing and shook her head slowly, finding the pain shooting up and down her body quite unbearable now. Kikyou glanced around nervously, silently hoping that maybe one of the servants would come running by. There was the option of running back to the castle and getting some people to aid Kagome, but the thought of leaving her sister all alone so close to the forest was not a good thought. She could of course just stay with Kagome at the bottom of the hill until people came looking for them, but who knows how long that would take and her Father had warned her of bad, stray demons lurking around at night. _

_"We have to go back Kagome, it's dangerous out here," said Kikyou, in the bravest voice she could muster._

_"It hurts really bad though," said Kagome as she began to rub the tears from her eyes, her crying becoming much more quieter._

_"I'll carry you," said Kikyou._

_"I'm too heavy," said Kagome sadly._

_"Can you at least stand?" asked Kikyou as she grasped her sister's hand and pulled her up slowly. Kagome winced as she felt her wounds open up wider as she stood, but the girl gritted her teeth firmly and nodded. "Okay, just hang onto me and we can go slowly, okay?"_

_"Do we have to go up the hill?" asked Kagome fearfully._

_"No. We can go around it. It's longer but I think it'll be easier for you," said Kikyou as she grasped her shorter sister tightly and slowly began to help her walk around the large hill. _

_Every once inawhile Kagome would cry out in pain and Kikyou would have to stop and let Kagome wait. It didn't matter how long she had to wait really, just as long as Kagome got home safely as she could. She didn't want to cause her sister anymore pain. _

_It was past sundown when they had gotten home and Isuzu had been standing outside waiting for them. There were tears brimming in her eyes and she had run towards them and had wrapped Kagome carefully and protectively in her arms. Kenji had arrived a bit later on horseback, a look of relief over his face and once again he had smiled at Kikyou with gratitude, happiness, and pride._

"Kouga has arrived," said Kaede as she stood in the doorway of the dining room as she gandered a look at Kagome's face. She was currently poised over her breakfast, her spoon halfway to her lips and there she had frozen from shock. He just had to have been one of the firsts to come! She wasn't even properly dressed yet!

"Tell him to wait outside," said Bankotsu as he glanced over at Kagome with a smirk.

"So am I the first here? Where's my woman?" said Kouga as he stormed into the room suddenly as Kaede disappeared. His eyes slowly landed on Kagome who had finally moved and was drooping further down in her seat.

"Didn't you here me damn wolf? Get out," said Bankotsu as he stood from his seat.

"And what are you going to do about it?" said Kouga as he crossed his arms and smirked.

"Pound your fucking face in, that's what," growled out Bankotsu, oh how the seconds ticked until he jumped upon the wolf.

"I will not have fighting in here," said Kikyou calmly. It was quite unforunate both Isuzu and Kenji were not in the room.

"And this is Kikyou's home, I believe you should respect her wishes," said Suikotsu.

"I-I'm going to change! Yes! Change, or something," said Kagome with a light-hearted laugh as she bolted from the room suddenly out the side door. Kouga made a dash for her, right before Bankotsu stuck his foot out and the wolf went skidding across the floor.

"She's changing, didn't you hear her?" said Bankotsu. "You shouldn't walk into a lady when she's changing, especially when she's changing."

"Yes, you shouldn't. If I hear that you did intrude upon Kagome changing, I shall have you executed," said Kikyou simply as she wiped her mouth dantily and stood and left the room, Suikotsu not too far off behind her.

"THAT ASS! THAT STUPID ASS!" cried Kagome as she banged her head on the wall in her room angrily. Normally Sango would be in here with her, trying to consol her about Kouga...but alas, Sango, once again, was no where to be find. A sigh escaped her lips as she slumped onto the floor, remembering what had happened in the hallway just minutes before.

_Kagome had been walking...well sort of running actually, down the hallway to her room, quite fearful Kouga would catch up with her. Although she had no doubt Bankotsu would probably be holding him up. She had almost reached her room when she had caught sight of Sango and Hojou talking together and laughing...without her. A smile had spread over her face as she ran towards them though and they had looked at her for a moment before running into a nearby room._

_"Sango! Hojou! Wait!" she had cried._

_She had burst into the room they had run into but found that they had gone. Her smile had disappeared and she had walked back into her room and from there she had begun to yell. Mostly blaming everything on Kouga._

"They hate me," said Kagome as she sighed. "It's official...they hate my guts and I don't even know why. What did I do!"

"Oh...this is your room," said a familiar voice as Kagome looked up from the floor to look into the face of Ayame. Of course, the girl had never really spent much time in the castle whenever she came, she wouldn't know whose room was whose. "Seen Kouga?"

"Dining room..." said Kagome, not really sure. Kouga had probably run off by now.

"Yeah, thanks," said Ayame as she waved at Kagome with a light flick of her wrist and was gone. Wierd girl. The two had never really been...friends and such. Ayame just saw Kagome as a rival for Kouga's attention, but wasn't exactly...cruel to her in anyway really. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

"You weren't really getting dressed, were you?" came Renkotsu's voice as Kagome looked up once more and she shook her head and smiled. "Yes well, I can see why you hurried away so quickly."

"Did Bankotsu kill him yet?" asked Kagome as she smiled at the thought.

"Alas, no," said Renkotsu as he smiled and stepped into her room and shut the door behind him.

Kagome sighed as she kept sitting on the floor, glancing down at her hands. Renkotsu and herself had a bit of an awkward relationship, they had never bonded that much. Their conversations always seemed to be cut short and they never seemed to find anything to talk about. Although even without words, you could tell that Renkotsu was protective of Kagome just like the others...well Jakotsu was a bit of an exception.

"Are you alright? You don't seem happy," he said simply as he glanced down at her small figure.

"I'm...fine," said Kagome as she looked up and gave him a big, fake, cheesy grin. "See, I'm smiling!"

"Right," said Renkotsu as he shook his head.

Another sigh escaped Kagome's lips as she looked up at Renkotsu. She doubted he would leave anytime soon. "Well...it's just that everyone's making such a big deal out of this whole birthday thing."

"But it's yours and Kikyou's eighteenth, of course it's a big deal," said Renkotsu, not really getting the point yet.

"But I don't want it to be! I don't want to be eighteen! I don't want to get married! I just want to have fun!" cried Kagome as she threw up her hands in frustration.

"But isn't marriage supposed to be fun? I mean all those married couples talk about the ups and downs, sounds interesting and fun to me," said Renkotsu as a smile appeared on his face.

"Then you get married for me, okay? Tell me how that turns out," said Kagome bitterly. It was amazing how a person could change once they focused their mind on hating something.

"Your parents seem happy with marriage," said Renkotsu.

"I mean I'm not saying I don't WANT to get married, I do, I do! Just not...now! Maybe in like, ten years when I know my childhood is over and done with," said Kagome.

"Your childhood is never over," said Renkotsu.

"Yeah, right," said Kagome.

"Hey! More people are coming!" cried Jakotsu as he burst through her door, stumbling into her room.

"Don't you knock!" cried Kagome as she stood up. "What if I was naked?"

"Oh please! Like I want to look at _you_," said Jakotsu as he made a face of disgust.

"What's wrong with me!" cried Kagome angrily.

"It's nothing, he just doesn't like women in general," said Renkotsu as he rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing his brother out the door and closing Kagome's door behind him. Once again, their little chat had been cut short.

Kagome made sure to lock her door firmly this time as she fell ontop of her bed. She didn't want to know who arrived this time, she just wanted to sleep. Let them bang on her door all they wanted, she wasn't going to answer it. No sir-ee! She was going to sleep and enjoy the time of peace she had left, fuck all the rest of them. Then of course...there was a knock at her door.

"WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME!" shouted Kagome shrilly.

She suddenly heard footsteps running away as a smile appeared on her lips. Ah yes, that would do.

"Where is Kagome?" asked a young, white haired girl as she glanced around the castle.

"I think she's still in her room," said Isuzu as she smiled.

"That lazy girl," said Kenji as he shook his head.

"Can I go see her Aunt Isuzu?" asked Kanna as she placed her pale white hands on the front of her kimono.

"Of course. Why don't you let Kikyou lead you there," said Isuzu as she led the little girl to Kikyou, who led her up the stairs. Kanna had always been a bit of a weak girl in health.

"Where'd Kikyou go? Wasn't she just hear?" asked Yura as she kept bursting through the door.

"She just led Kanna to Kagome," said Isuzu. "Is Kagura not here?"

"I'm afraid not," said Yura as she shook her head. "Pregnancy pains it seems, but she said she would try to come if she felt better."

"Well I do hope she doesn't push herself too hard," said Isuzu.

"No, we wouldn't want that to happen again," said Kenji as he shook his head, remembering the last two miscarriages Kagura had gone through.

"Kagome? Are you in there?" asked Kikyou as she knocked on the door to her sister's room.

"Kikyou? Is that you?" asked Kagome as she slowly opened her door, making sure it was her sister. "Yay! It is! You wouldn't believe how many people have bugged me today."

"Why weren't you downstairs? Kanna and Yura came," said Kikyou.

"Kagura's not here?" asked Kagome.

"She's not feeling well," spoke Kanna slowly and softly as she came into view.

"Kanna! You're here! I was afraid you wouldn't fe-" started Kagome, but stopped as a look from Kikyou silenced her. "Um...you wouldn't...um...wouldn't...oh yeah, you wouldn't want to come! You know, it's just going to be another boring get together thing."

"I thought I would come in stead of Kagura," said Kanna as she managed a small little smile.

"Well come in! Do you want me to get some cookies for you? Kaede makes the best sugar cookies!" said Kagome as she smiled and let the little girl into her room, Kikyou still standing in the doorway.

"That would be nice," said Kanna as she nodded. "May I have warm milk instead of cold though?"

"Sure! Sure! No problem!" said Kagome as she ran past Kikyou at the door and stopped in the hallway and quickly spotted one of the younger girl maids. "You there! Ummm...Mika, is it? Yes of course! Mika, with the freckles! Could you ask Kaede to bring up some of her cookies and a glass of cold and warm milk?"

The little girl looked quite startled at being adressed by the Princess and nearly dropped the tray in her hands. She quickly recovered though and nodded and then scurried off down the hallway as Kagome smiled and went back into her room to join Kanna.

"So, how has it been? I haven't seen you since your tenth birthday! You're um...twelve now?" asked Kagome, not exactly sure.

"Yes, I'll be thirteen in several months," said Kanna as she nodded.

Kikyou smiled as she watched the two girls talk amongst themselves, when she felt a light tap on her shouler. She turned around swiftly to see Suikotsu standing there.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Lady Kikyou," he spoke. "But Hiten and Manten have arrived."

"It's alright, I'll be right down," said Kikyou as she smiled.

"Shall I alert Kagome as well?" asked Suikotsu.

"No, leave her be. Greeting is not something she enjoys anyway," said Kikyou as she smiled and walked down the hallway with Suikotsu.

"It definitely isn't," agreed Suikotsu as he smiled.

"Thank you for the invite Lord Kenji," said Hiten as he smiled.

"Thank you for coming," said Kenji as the two men shook hands.

"Oh, hey look Jakotsu, Baldy is here," said Bankotsu as he pointed at Manten and snickered.

"Still haven't found any miracle growth, have you Manten?" added Jakotsu.

"HEY! DO YOU SEE THIS!" cried Manten as he pointed at the three wisps of hair on his head. "THIS IS HAIR!"

"Oh...it looked like dust," said Bankotsu as he shrugged.

"I thought it was a reflection of the light on his shiny, bald head!" exclaimed Jakotsu as he laughed.

"SAY THAT TO MY FACE!" cried Manten suddenly as he suddenly charged at the two brothers on his short legs.

"Ah yes, now where will our rooms be?" asked Hiten simply, taking a grasp at the back of Hiten's armour, holding him back.

"It's...um...I believe it's on the second floor..." said Kenji, not really sure. "Oh wait! Here comes Kikyou, she'll show you."

"Good Morning Lady Kikyou," said Hiten as he smiled at the young princess.

"Good Morning Hiten," said Kikyou as she smiled back.

"You two causing trouble again? Can't you leave the poor man alone?" asked Suikotsu as he glanced over at Manten and sighed.

"What? We weren't doing anything wrong," said Bankotsu defensevely.

"We were only stating the obvious," said Jakotsu.

"Yes, that's right. The obvious," said Bankotsu.

A look of pure rage struck over Manten's face as he tried to fight his way out of Hiten's grasp.

"Well you're room is this way," said Kikyou as she led the two brothers up the stiars.

It seemed as if Manten's rage was just a rather normal thing to everyone, and nobody took real notice of the uglier brother's anger.

"So how is Kagura doing then?" asked Kagome as she dunked a chocolate chip cookie into her milk and watched Kanna.

"She is doing fine, but her baby is giving her a bit of trouble," said Kanna, a sad look crossing over her face.

"Don't worry Kanna, your sister will be just fine," said Kagome. "She's a strong woman."

"Yes, she is," said Kanna as she nodded.

"You should be excited! You'll be an aunt soon," said Kagome as she grinned.

"That is true," said Kanna as she sipped her warm milk. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great!" said Kagome as she grinned.

"Really?" asked Kanna, a look of surprise crossing over her face. "But Kagura said you might be sad when I came."

"Sad? Why would I be sad? I mean I am a little sad because I'm getting so old, but that's not such a big deal!" said Kagome as she laughed.

"Kagura said you would hate it..." trailed on Kanna.

"Oh, come now. Kouga isn't an IT exactly," said Kagome as she kept laughing, still not understanding the girl fully.

"Kagura said you would hate the truth..." finished Kanna.

"The...truth?" repeated Kagome, her laughter completely ceasing. Her face held a look of curiousty and pain now, trying to understand what the younger girl was saying. "What truth Kanna?"

Suddenly the door to her room was opened as Kikyou came walking in. "I'm sorry to walk in on you Kagome, but Mother needs to speak with Kanna."

"But..." began Kagome, about to protest. She wanted to find out what Kanna meant!

"I am sorry Kagome," said Kanna as she walked towards Kikyou. "We will talk later."

Kagome watched as the two left her room, as she was left with a glass of milk in one hand and a half eaten cookie in the other. What had the strange child meant? What truth? What lies had she been told? What was going ON!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to **Sheenachi, Avelyn Lauren, Cold Kikyo, Royal Blue Kitsune, hermonine, DeathbyMotorBike, ShadowCat711, Itasuko-chan, Flame Ivy Moon, LynGreenTea, ABCGum, Exer, Takiko Okuda**, for leaving me great comments! Thank you guys for supporting this story and sorry for the LONG waits between chapters and Happy Holidays! I hope to see you all in the New Year with a new chapter and everything!

**Chapter Five**

_"Yes Mother? You wanted to speak to me?" said an eight-year-old Kikyou as she stepped into her parent's bedroom, where her Mother sat on her bed. Her dark tresses fell over her face, a sad look upon her face as she bed her child to come closer. Kikyou nodded as she stepped towards her Mother and saw from the corner of her eye, her Father slip out of the room, which seemed quite odd._

_"Kikyou...darling..." said Isuzu as she held out her arms for her daughter._

_"Yes Mother?" repeated Kikyou once again._

_"Come here..." she said softly as she wrapped her arms around Kikyou's shoulders, bringing the young girl's head to her breast. Her cheek was lying upon the silk material of her nightdress as Kikyou closed her eyes, hearing her Mother's soft heartbeat. _

_"Are you alright Mother?" asked Kikyou worriedly, as she suddenly felt warm drops of water fall upon her head. "Is something wrong with the baby?"_

_"My dear Kikyou...my dear _dear _Kikyou..." said Isuzu. "There...there is no baby."_

_Kikyou didn't understand. Where had the baby gone? It had only been hours before that she and Kagome had learned that her Mother was about to go into labor. _

_"What do you...mean?" asked Kikyou._

_"The baby died Kikyou...he died!" said Isuzu as she began to sob into her daughter's shoulder. Oh how she had hoped for so long to hear that wonderful baby's cry. To hear it burst into the world, all healthy and full, but she wad denied of that. Her baby had come into the world, but it had come quietly and had lasted only a few moments. _

_"Mother..." said Kikyou as she held her Mother tightly._

_"I've always wanted a second child Kikyou...a child of my own," Isuzu began to mutter between sobs. _

_"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Kikyou, suddenly startled. Her Mother did have two children! Was Kikyou not her Mother's real child? Was that why she was summoned and Kagome was not? How could she not be blood related to her dear sister? This was all wrong!_

_"Kikyou...my dear, dear Kikyou," said Isuzu as she pulled away from her daughter and began to stroke the young girl's hair lovingly. "I sometimes feel as if I neglect you, sometimes I think that you believe I love you less."_

_"Mother...please..." said Kikyou, trying to beg her Mother not to speak any further. She didn't want to hear any of this. _

_"But I do love you Kikyou, because you are _my _daughter and no body elses," said Isuzu as she managed a sad, teary smile._

_"I love you too Mother," said Kikyou as tears began to spring form her eyes._

_"Do not treat your sister any less..." said Isuzu._

_"No! No of course not! I love Kagome! I do! I do!" said Kikyou as she clung to her Mother. It didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter if she was not apart of this family by blood, because enternally she was and as long as Kagome was spared from the pain of knowing, she was accept this fact._

_"Because my dear Kikyou...Kagome is not your sister," said Isuzu as she began to run her fingers through Kikyou's hair._

_So it was true. She and Kagome were not related. Kagome was the daughter of Isuzu and Kenji and she...she was somebody elses daughter._

_"Fuka was always such a dear," said Isuzu. "She was like a little sister to me. Between me, Ouka, and Fuka...Fuka was always the one making us smile in her own little way. She was always so quite and tender, sometimes we were afraid she was going to break apart into pieces."_

_So...her name was Fuka. What a beautiful name. Had this Fuka-Mother named her before she had gone away?_

_"You see Kikyou...Fuka died during childbirth and I had decided to take in her daughter," said Isuzu. "because the Father was unknown..."_

_Kikyou's face faltered. She was a..a...bastard child._

_"And Fuka had already had a name picked out for the little angel," said Isuzu, remembering the night the three of them had picked out names for their unborn children. "What a beautiful name...it was the name of her late Aunt, the one that had raised Fuka for most of her life."_

_What was this Aunt Kikyou like then? Was she just like herself?_

_"Kagome...It was Kagome..." said Isuzu and just then, it seemed Kikyou's whole body stopped._

It had been so close. She had come back from leading the Thunder Brother's to their room and had stopped at Kagome's door, smiling at the conversation between Kagome and Kanna. Then Kanna had almost spoken the most forbidden. When had the little girl learned of the secret? Had Kagura told her sister of it? Why was she not told that Kanna knew! Was the little girl not even told that Kagome herself did not know? That was when Kikyou had bursted into the room, shuffling Kanna out before more dangerous words could be spoken.

"What is the matter Kikyou?" asked Kanna slowly, looking up at her cousin.

"Who told you Kanna?" asked Kikyou. "Who told you of Kagome?"

"Kagura did...before I left," said Kanna softly, afraid of what Kikyou might do. "She told me that since she could not be here, that I should try to take her place and comfort Kagome."

"I see..." said Kikyou.

"But Cousin Kagome does not know...does she," stated Kanna.

"No, she does not," said Kikyou.

"Why? She is almost of age and everyone knows except herself," said Kanna. "It is wrong to keep it from her."

"We care for Kagome," said Kikyou. "We don't want to hurt her Kanna..."

"But are you not hurting her more by keeping this from her?" asked Kanna.

The conversation stopped as Kikyou thought about Kanna's statement. The little girl was right...in some ways. In her heart she knew that keeping such a secret from Kagome only hurt her sister more, but what could she do? It was already too far late to fix the problem.

"Kikyou, did you not say that Aunt Isuzu needed to speak to me?" asked Kanna.

"Oh yes...she is in her room," said Kikyou quietly. "Shall I show you the way?"

"No, that is not necessary," said Kanna. "I believe it would be better for you to be alone and I would not want to burden you."

With that the young girl fled from the hallway, leaving Kikyou standing there by herself. What had this family done to Kagome? What horrible lies that had been spoken to her innocent ears. Kikyou buried her face into her hands, trying to calm herself down. Her body suddenly tensed up as an arm was wrapped around her shoulder and a hand was placed upon hers, pulling them away from her face.

"Let us talk," came the soft and warm voice of Suikotsu as he led Kikyou down the dark hallway. It seemed like an omen, for it seemed the further they walked down, the darker it became, just like how the more lies they spread, the darker the future of this family became.

"Kagome, what a pleasant surprise," said Kenji as he finished brushing down one of the horses's manes.

"Is this where you've been Father?" asked Kagome as she smiled.

"I believe you've caught me," said Kenji as he laughed. "I'm afraid all this party talk is not my cup of tea."

"Me neither! I only like the parties, not the planning," said Kagome as she giggled. "and I don't see why we have to greet all the guests personally."

"Your Mother says it's proper of us to do so," said Kenji as he led the horse back into it's stall.

"I guess so," muttered Kagome as she sighed and planted herself on one of the benches lining the inside of the barn.

"Well it won't be for much longer dear," said Kenji as he walked over and sat by his daughter. "Almost all of the guests have arrived."

"I suppose so," said Kagome. "I'm waiting for Shippou to arrive and Lord InuTaisho and his family haven't arrived yet, have they?"

"No, I'm afraid not," said Kenji as he shook his head. "But I'm sure they'll be here."

"What are they like Father?" asked Kagome curiously.

"Haven't we spoken of them a few days ago?" asked Kenji as he looked down at Kagome.

"Well...yes, but not in detail," said Kagome.

"Of course, of course," said Kenji as he chuckled. "Lord InuTaisho is a strong dog youkai who's been known to be a powerful warrior. He has compassion for others and hold a lot of mercy for his opponents. So he's quite the fair man. His late wife Yuzume-"

"Wait! I thought you said his wife was Midori!" cried Kagome.

"Well, yes, I did say that," said Kenji. "but Lord InuTaisho had two late wives. Yuzume was his first and gave birth to Sesshomaru and passed away a few years after and he remarried a human woman, Midori and she gave birth to InuYasha. Then of coruse Young Rin happened and she passed away in birth."

"So...then InuYasha is a hanyou?" asked Kagome, a bit confused.

"Yes," said Kenji.

"And was Yuzume a youkai as well?" asked Kagome.

"That's right, so Sesshomaru is a full demon," said Kenji.

"And of course Rin is human," said Kagome as she leaned against the smooth surface of the wooden stable and glanced at the hay covered ground.

"Yes, but the way I hear it, Sesshomaru has taken quite a liking to Rin and she's grown on Lord InuTaisho," said Kenji as he smiled and patted the strong horse on the back and led it back behing the gate.

"Oh, I see," said Kagome.

"Now come, why don't we see if we can help your Mother," said Kenji as he held his arm out for Kagome. She smiled and hopped up from the chair and wrapped herself within her Father's comforting grasp as the two walked back to the castle.

"Shall I show you to your room?" asked Kikyou as she looked down at the child before her.

"That's okay! I can wait for Kagome," said the child as he grinned broadly. "Where is she anyway?"

"I think she went down to the stables, but I'm sure she'll be back shortly," said Kikyou as she smiled at the young boy. He had grown quite a bit from the several months he had been gone. He was a bit taller and his hair longer and he had finally stretched out to a normal pre-teen's length as well.

"She's always making me wait," muttered the boy as he plopped himself down on the ground in annoyance as his orange hair flopped about his head.

"I think Kikyou's going to have..." Kagome's sentence trailed off and abruptly ended as a loud squeal erupted from her lips. "Shippou! Oh Shippou! When did you come!"

The young woman picked up the ends up her kimono and ran towards the young kistune and soon tackled him to the ground in a large hug. There was giggling and laughter as Shippou began to plead for her to remove herself from him, for his lungs were being crushed. Kagome paid no mind as she squeezed him hard to her breast once more and then let him go as he gasped for air.

"Just...a few...moments...ago," wheezed out Shippou as he waved the raven haired girl away from a moment.

"You've grown so big! You're taller than Kanna!" said Kagome as she brought her hand down to Shippou's head. "That's right! You should meet Kanna too!"

"Who's Kanna?" asked Shippou as he dusted himself off.

"Our cousin silly, I've told you about her," said Kagome as she laughed. "But that was awhile ago I suppose, wasn't it?"

"Father...there's someone else coming," said Kikyou as she glanced out the open doorway. In the distance of the hills was a small spec that was speeding towards them rapidly.

"That'd odd," said Kenji as he stepped out into the grass and placed a hand behind him, motioning for Kikyou to stay back. "Stay inside."

Kikyou nodded and glanced back at Kagome and Shippou, who were too busy catching up to notice what was going on. She smiled at their childish nature for a moment before turning her attention back to her father and the coming figure. She placed a hand upon the door as she watched the spec become a man upon a horse. His face held a look that looked frantic and his hands were clenched onto the rein tightly and there seemed to be a red stain upon his arm.

"What's your business here?" asked Kenji firmly as the man on the horse came to an abrupt stop and the horse gave out a long neigh.

"Pl-Please, Lord Kenji!" cried the man as he grasped his stained arm. "We are in need of help! Th-The caravan was attacked by Onigumo's forces! Lord InuTaisho is in danger!"

"How do we know we can trust your word?" asked Kenji, quite unsure of the situation.

"K-kikyou...what's going on?" asked Kagome as she tugged on her sister's arm. She looked at the blood stained man with curiosity and fear as Kikyou shushed her.

The man fumbled around in his pouch for a moment before managing to toss something rather shiny and gold at Kenji. It skidded to a stop at his feet and Kenji immediately scooped it up into his hands. He ran his finger over it, rubbing off the dust as his eyes widened at the emblem upon it. This was indeed Lord InuTaisho's family crest.

"Where are they?" said Kenji as he pocketed the emblem into his pocket.

"A few miles north of here, near the Gier Brook," said the man.

"Kikyou, go tell your Mother to set up rooms. Kagome, call Bankotsu and the others, I shall round up more soldiers," said Kenji as he directed his two daughters.

"Shall I come along Lord Kenji?" asked the man.

"No, you've done your job young man and you're wounded," said Kenji. "Go to the stables and rest your horse. Shippou will accompany you."

"Yes sir," said Shippou. "Come on, you can rest in my room...as soon as I find it." He walked over to the man, mumbling the last part.

"You'll becareful, won't you Father?" asked Kagome worriedly.

"Don't worry," said Kenji as he walked over to his daughters and kissed them tenderly upon the forehead. "It'll turn out okay. Now go."

Kikyou immediately ran up the stairs to get her Mother as Kagome lingered for a few minutes longer, watching as her Father ran quickly towards the stables. Then with a firm look on her face, she pulled up her kimono slightly and rushed up the stairs.

"BANKOTSU! RENKOTSU! WHERE ARE YOU!" cried out Kagome frantically as she rushed down the hallways, banging on every door. "SUIKOTSU! JUKOTSU!"

"Kagome, what is it?" asked Renkotsu as he opened a door from the end of the hallway.

"Lord Inutaisho is being attacked! Father needs help!" shouted Kagome as she quickly stoppped running.

At that exact moment, three more doors opened as Kouga stepped out of one, the Thunder Brothers in another, and Bankotsu and Jukotsu in the last.

"Where's Suikotsu?" asked Bankotsu.

"It doesn't matter where he is now, we should hurry up and go help Lord InuTaisho and Kenji," said Kouga, knowing very well how important it was to keep the Lords and their families safe, since he was one himself.

"I shall look for Suikotsu, just please go and help Father," said Kagome.

"Do not cry for me Kagome, I shall be just fine," said Kouga as he smiled at Kagome and ran down the hallway with furious speed.

"That idiot wolf!" cried Bankotsu as he shook his head.

"Becareful Bankotsu," said Kagome.

"Don't worry Kagome, with all of us helping, there's no way we'll lose," said Bankotsu as the rest of them rushed down the stairs.

"Kagome, did you manage to get everyone?" asked Kikyou as she came running up the stairs with bandages in her arms.

"Yes, I did," said Kagome. "But we couldn't find Suikotsu."

"Don't worry, I caught him in the hallway and told him," said Kikyou as she smiled. "Here, come help me roll these bandages up."

"Sure," said Kagome as the two sisters walked in silence to one of the many empty rooms in the castle.

"Here, start with this one," said Kikyou as she handed Kagome a strand from the basket.

"Kikyou...?" said Kagome as she began to roll up the cloth. "How can you be so calm and happy when Father is out there fighting such a dangerous battle?"

"Because I have trust in him Kagome. Trust that he'll come back home to Mother and to us," said Kikyou as she smiled softly. "You have trust for you, don't you?"

"Yes, of course!" cried Kagome as she stopped rolling for a moment.

"Then don't fret too much about it," said Kikyou as she finished up on roll and placed it neatly within the basket and started over with a new.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this," said Kagome suddenly.

"What? Rolling bandages?" said Kikyou as she laughed.

"No Kikyou, being a princess," said Kagome. "Being here and trying to act like one."

"What are you saying Kagome?" asked Kikyou as the laughter from her face completely dropped.

"I'm saying I can't stand this!" cried Kagome as she tossed the unfinished roll onto the floor. "I don't want to be this way anymore!"

Before Kikyou could speak, Kagome had sped out of the room. The girl had nearly tripped on her way out, but she had managed it. She sprinted down the hallway and stopped, trying to stop her crying. She didn't want her Mother to come around a corner and see her like this. Suddenly a door opened within the empty hallway as Sango stepped out and closed the door. She looked down the hallway and froze to see Kagome standing there.

"Don't run away from me Sango!" cried Kagome, her voice cracking slightly as she sled down to the floor.

Sango stopped, her back turned to Kagome. She turned around and walked over to her friend, placing the basket of medicine upon the floor.

"Why are you crying Kagome?" asked Sango.

"Because of you! Because of everyone!" cried Kagome as she turned away from Sango's hand.

"I'm so-," started Sango.

"What? You're sorry! You're sorry now? After avoiding me for the past few days you're SORRY!" shouted Kagome. "When my Father and Bankotsu and even Kouga is out there fighting a dangerous battle, all you have to say is YOU'RE SORRY!"

Kagome buried her head deep into her arms, as her shoulders shook violently. She wanted Sango to tell her it would be okay and to wrap her arms around her, but apart of her wanted Sango to just crumble up and die. She tensed up for a moment as she felt arms wrap around her then loosened and buried her face instead into Sango's shoulder.

"I am so sorry Kagome," said Sango. "So, so sorry."


End file.
